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‘A day of thanksgiving’: Establishment Dems breathe sigh of relief after Hong loss in Wisconsin

2026-08-12 1:27 PM EDT / CNN Politics

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 1:27 PM EDT, Wed August 12, 2026

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‘A day of thanksgiving’: Establishment Dems breathe sigh of relief after Hong loss in Wisconsin

Inside Politics

Dana Bash and the “Inside Politics” panel discuss democratic socialist Francesca Hong’s loss in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, and what it says about the left’s momentum nationwide. Establishment Democrats “don’t see this as some sort of death knell for the progressive movement,” David Chalian tells Bash.

2:15 • Source: CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/12/politics/video/wisconsin-gov-primary-dems-hong-loses-ip

Jewish Dem defections threaten El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race decided by razor-thin margins

Lifelong Democrats in Detroit suburbs say El-Sayed’s positions on Israel and Zionism forced them to choose safety over party

August 12, 2026 1:24pm EDT / Fox News

By Ariella Noveck

El-Sayed is a ‘true radical’: Sen Tom Cotton

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., reflects on the legacy of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and the influence of democratic socialists on the Democratic Party on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin.’

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Jewish voters could provide the decisive margin in Michigan’s November Senate election, particularly as some lifelong Democrats say they are prepared to cross party lines and vote for Republican Mike Rogers against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

Analysts point to Michigan’s last U.S. Senate race decided by just 19,006 votes. With estimates placing the state’s Jewish population between approximately 105,000 and 130,000 adults, those votes could tip the scales in favor of Rogers.

“Republicans made real gains in the most Jewish areas in 2024, and Michigan was no exception,” Matthew Knee, a Republican pollster and consultant who serves as chief data officer of Pulse Decision Science, told Fox News Digital.

“Stevens massively outperformed in many Jewish precincts as well,” Knee said, commenting on the primary. “Rogers and El-Sayed are both the kinds of candidates that will accelerate this trend. There are only 130,000 Jewish voters in Michigan, but in 2024, Rogers only lost by 19,006 votes, so that can make the difference in that kind of razor-thin environment.”

DEM ATTORNEY BACKS GOP HOPEFUL IN MICHIGAN RACE AGAINST EL-SAYED, ‘JUMPING SHIP’ FROM HIS PARTY’S ‘LUNATICS’

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, talks poolside with streamer Hasan Piker at a party for content creators supporting his campaign Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit.(Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

For generations,voting for the Democratic Party has been part of the identity of many Jewish families across the state, but since El-Sayed’s victory, some are moving toward the Republican Party.

In interviews with Fox News Digital, several Jewish Michigan voters said El-Sayed’s positions regarding Israel and Zionism have forced them to choose between the liberal values they have supported throughout their lives and what they view as the safety of their children and community.

For many, that prospective vote would not represent a wholesale rejection of the Democratic Party. It would be a break in this single race, a split-ticket vote they once considered unthinkable.

Steve Cohen, a lifelong Michigan resident and self-described “notorious ticket splitter,” said the current political climate has made the Senate race especially consequential.

“We’ve had attacks on our synagogues and our school buildings where our kids go,” Cohen said. “There’s a torrent of activity pushing anti-Israel and anti-Jewish things on our campuses, and that includes every part of the state of Michigan. So, right now, it’s a little bit scary to be a Jew here.”

LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS HECKLE PRO-ISRAEL DEMOCRAT HALEY STEVENS AT MICHIGAN CONVENTION

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at an election night rally at the Majestic Theatre Aug. 4, 2026, in Detroit.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“I now feel forced to choose between those liberal values and the safety of my children,” said Benji, a lifelong Michigan resident and self-identified liberal whose last name Fox News Digital is withholding for security reasons.

“As a lifelong Jewish liberal, I have advocated for liberal values, including commonsense gun laws, LGBT rights, women’s reproductive healthcare, healthcare reform and Black Lives Matter,” Benji said.

“El-Sayed may claim to love Jews and the Jewish people, but requiring Jews to be anti-Zionist is a racist purity test and makes his claim ring hollow,” he added. “I believe in changing the system from within, but it is no longer safe inside that system for me or for my children.”

Stacy, who also asked to withhold her last name, comes from a fifth-generation Democratic Jewish family and has lived in Michigan for 13 years. She has also never voted Republican. Her alienation from the Democratic Party intensified at its state convention in April, where she said she felt hostility toward anyone who openly supported Israel.

“I felt the hatred and hostility in the room toward me if I dared to be supportive of Israel,” Stacy said. She recalled watching Stevens being booed and harassed and said she “could see the writing on the wall.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers waits to go onstage at his election watch party with the MIGOP Nov. 5, 2024 in Novi, Mich.(Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

“I take no joy in feeling like my party has abandoned me, but I need to vote this way for self-preservation,” she said.

Stacy also pointed to Rogers’ experience, calling him the more qualified candidate “if you look at it just on paper.”

Mike Rogers is a former Army officer, FBI special agent, congressman and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Jewish voters make up approximately 1.4% of Michigan’s electorate, representing an estimated 105,000 people statewide, according to the American Jewish Population Project at Brandeis University. Much of the community is concentrated in the politically significant Detroit suburbs.

“We hear constantly about the Muslim vote in Michigan, particularly in Dearborn, as a crucial political bloc. But the truth is that Jews in the Great Lakes State are a comparably sized religious minority and historically a much more important constituency for the Democratic Party,” said Jesse Arm, Manhattan Institute vice president and pollster.

BIDEN-WORLD VETERAN ISSUES STARK WARNING ABOUT ABDUL EL-SAYED AS HE CROSSES PARTY LINES

Caution tape near the front entrance of Temple Israel a day after an active shooter incident March 13, 2026, in West Bloomfield, Mich.(Emily Elconin/Getty Images)

Arm said Jewish voters turn out at high rates and have long provided Democratic candidates with votes and financial support. He said Jewish organizers and political fundraisers described “an unprecedented level of opposition to El-Sayed among Jewish Democrats.”

“Some intend simply to withhold their votes and contributions,” Arm said. “But many prominent Jewish Democratic families and donors are prepared to go further and directly support Mike Rogers.”

Sam Markstein, national political director and spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, told Fox News Digital those voters could provide the decisive margin in November.

Markstein said the RJC analyzed primary results in Oak Park, Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield and Southfield, four Oakland County communities with sizable Jewish populations. According to the organization’s analysis, Stevens received approximately 37,000 votes across those communities, compared with about 20,000 for El-Sayed.

Her combined 17,000-vote advantage was greater than the statewide margin by which Rogers lost his 2024 Senate campaign to Democrat Elissa Slotkin.

Anti-Israel supporters march during a rally marking the 75th anniversary of Nakba, or the “catastrophe” of the creation of Israel, in Dearborn, Mich., May 13, 2023.(Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

“That’s a really big delta there that shows that Jewish voters do not like Abdul El-Sayed,” Markstein said.

He called Michigan’s Jewish voters “not just a rounding error” and said Republicans have an opportunity to move more of them into their column in November.

Markstein also criticized El-Sayed’s response to the March terrorist attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. An armed attacker rammed a vehicle into the synagogue, where approximately 140 children were present, before opening fire. No children, congregants or staff members were physically harmed.

FBI NABS 7 FOR ALLEGED ‘CAMPAIGN OF VIOLENCE’ TO PRESSURE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, BUSINESSES OVER ISRAEL TIES

El-Sayed initially condemned the attack as “heinous” but later faced criticism after discussing violence in the Middle East while reflecting on the attacker’s actions and saying “hurt people do hurt people.”

El-Sayed has maintained that he condemns antisemitism and is committed to protecting Michigan’s Jewish community.

Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign regarding the concerns raised by the Jewish voters who were interviewed but did not receive a response.

However, in a previous statement on concerns over antisemitism, El-Sayed stated in May, “I understand what it’s like to be discriminated against for how I pray. This is why I will always stand against antisemitism and stand with my Jewish brothers and sisters and their right to practice their faith safely, freely and unabashedly.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus for comment but did not receive a response. In a statement issued after the primary, however, the caucus congratulated El-Sayed on his victory while acknowledging “frustration, anxiety and deep disappointment” among Jewish Democrats and calling on the nominee to engage directly with Michigan’s Jewish community.

A heavy police presence at Temple Israel, a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., after reports of an active shooter March 12, 2026.(Fox 2)

The caucus said El-Sayed must “address the harm caused during this campaign,” arguing his repeated focus on organized Jewish political participation had “crossed an alarming line.” At the same time, it urged concerned Jewish Democrats not to abandon the party, saying their place in the Democratic coalition remains “indispensable.”

Arm cautioned that Rogers should not take the voting bloc for granted.

“Rogers shouldn’t assume he has it in the bag,” Arm said. “El-Sayed is telegenic, disciplined and politically crafty, and he’ll spend the months between now and November looking for ways to present himself as more heterodox and less radical than the record suggests.”

The Jewish Federation of Detroit directed Fox News Digital to a statement it released after the primary election result, while noting that, as a 501(c)(3), it “cannot and does not endorse or oppose candidates.”

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“As an organization, we will continue to engage across the political spectrum to advocate for issues essential to our future, including standing against antisemitism, violence and bigotry, ensuring the safety and security of the Jewish community and houses of worship, and championing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” the statement said.

Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in suburban Detroit said the concerns extend beyond any single candidate.

The Jewish religious symbol of the Star of David inside a synagogue.(iStock)

“American Jews have long rejected extremism, particularly within our political parties,” Starr told Fox News Digital. “We reject extremism on the right, and we reject extremism on the left.

“Right now, however, it feels as though extremism on the left is not only becoming louder, but increasingly normalized. That has created a frightening moment for American Jews and certainly for the Jewish community here in Michigan.”

For Benji and Stacy, the possibility of voting Republican does not mean they have stopped believing in the causes they have supported for decades. It means that, for the first time, they believe their Democratic values and their safety as Jews have been placed in conflict.

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Voting for a Republican was once unthinkable. Following El-Sayed’s nomination, they say it now feels unavoidable.

Ariella Noveck is a journalist specializing in antisemitism and Middle East affairs, with extensive experience covering Jewish communities worldwide. She can be followed on X and Instagram @AriellaNoveck

How much time does AI save at work? New Census Bureau data breaks it down.

2026-08-12T12:27:00-0400 / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

Read Full Bio

Updated on: August 12, 2026 / 2:34 PM EDT / CBS News

Artificial intelligence is believed to save workers time by helping them complete their daily tasks. But just how much more efficient can it make employees?

About 55% of workers say they use AI on the job, with about one-third of those reporting it cuts the time they need to complete a given assignment by one to two hours, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

How are workers using AI on the job?

Workers reported turning to AI for help with tasks including writing, generating new ideas, conducting research and completing administrative tasks.

Here’s how they say they most frequently use AI on the job:

• 37% use it to search for information or technical help
• 32% to write or draft text
• 32% to generate ideas
• 31% to interpret, translate or summarize information
• 27% for administrative tasks
• 21% for data analysis or visualization
• 16% for tutoring or training
• 12% for customer support

A smaller share of workers use it to write code, for medical care and to manage logistics or supply chains, according to the Census data.

The findings are based on a weekly national Census Bureau survey of individuals and households on topics including employment, food and nutrition, and transportation.

How much time does AI save workers?

One-quarter of employees who reported using AI at work say the tools shaved less than an hour off the time it would otherwise have taken them to complete a task, according to the Census data.

A smaller share, at 15%, of workers saw even greater efficiency gains, saying that AI cut their workloads by three hours per task. An additional 15% said it saved them four hours.

To be sure, it can take time for employees to learn to use new technology like AI, which can initially add hours to the time required to complete a task. Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that AI adoption in manufacturing initially decreases productivity before ultimately helping workers achieve long-term gains.

Economists use the “J-curve” model to explain the phenomenon. The productivity trajectory, in the shape of the letter J, reflects the period when considerable resources are committed to learning and investing in new technologies, with productivity initially dipping before rising exponentially.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt leaving role, Trump announces

2026-08-12T19:47:51.642Z / CNN

By Betsy Klein

Updated 2 min ago
Updated Aug 12, 2026, 4:04 PM ET
PUBLISHED Aug 12, 2026, 3:47 PM ET

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on March 25, 2026.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/File

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her role at the end of August, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.

The imminent departure of one of the president’s closest allies inside the White House marks a major shakeup for the president’s press operation, with less than three months until the midterm elections.

Describing her as “one of my most trusted aides,” Trump said in a social media post that Leavitt “will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!”

Leavitt, he added, will continue to serve as an outside adviser.

The 28-year-old made made history as the youngest-ever White House press secretary, and also the first woman to be pregnant in the high-pressure job. She returned to the briefing room podium last month after a short maternity leave.

Leavitt served in a junior role during Trump’s first term but has emerged as one of his most effective and loyal spokespeople during his second. She has cultivated a personal brand as a pit bull for the president and his policies, tussling with reporters who ask tough questions and welcoming friendlier outlets.

Behind the microphone and on social media, she has also also presented herself as a devoted wife and working mom, toting toddler son Niko to Air Force One and the Oval Office, posing for photos with her husband at the White House Easter Egg Roll and Halloween celebrations, baking an apple pie from scratch and basking in newborn snuggles with daughter Viviana.

As is often true of social media, the images belie her demanding job.

“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary,” she wrote in a social media post Wednesday, calling her decision “bittersweet.”

During Leavitt’s recent maternity leave, White House press briefings became significantly less frequent. The press shop stacked the lectern with top officials like Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — guest appearances that came with varying levels of success.

Her successor was not immediately clear.

This story has been updated with additional information.

As measles outbreaks grow in the U.S., maps and charts show a record number of cases

August 12, 2026 / 2:57 PM EDT / CBS News

So far in 2026, the U.S. has recorded the most measles cases in more than three decades as outbreaks spread in multiple states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.

By mid-July, the number had already surpassed all of 2025, which had been the worst year in recent history with more than 2,200 confirmed cases. Ongoing outbreaks have put the U.S. at risk of losing its officialmeasles elimination status, which it has held since 2000.

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases. In some cases, it can causesevere infectionsin the lungs and brain that can lead to cognitive issues, deafness or death. But it can be prevented by vaccination, which medical research has proven to be safe and highly effective.

The CBS News data team has tracked confirmed measles cases nationwide as new data is released by state health departments and the CDC.

Out of the 2,289 confirmed cases last year, more than 750 were connected to an outbreak in West Texas that led tothe deaths oftwo children.

Prior to 2025, the highest number of confirmed cases in the U.S. in recent years was 1,274 in 2019, driven by outbreaks in New York, California and Washington state. Most years the total was much lower.

Health experts point to lower vaccination rates as the main reason for increases in preventableinfectious diseases like measles. The vast majority of cases have been in people who were unvaccinated, and outbreaks have spread in communities with lower vaccination rates.

CDC data shows about 93% of kindergartners in the U.S. were vaccinated against measles during the 2021-2022 school year and only 92.7% in the 2023-2024 school year. This isdown from 95.2% during the 2019-2020 school year — a critical threshold to keep people safe. Only 10 states hit that threshold.

“When more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated, most people are protected through community immunity (herd immunity),” the CDC states.

“I think that parents, for most kids, especially for the measles vaccines, the DTP, all the standard childhood vaccines, it’s very important that parents vaccinate their kids,” Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health,said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

Researchhas found no evidenceof increased rates of autism among those who are vaccinated compared to those who are not.Vaccinesalso undergo intensive safety testing.

Edited by Paula Cohen and Melissa Gaffney

Trump says press secretary Leavitt to leave job at month’s end

2026-08-12T19:41:37.106Z / Reuters

August 12, 2026 7:41 PM UTC Updated 12 mins ago

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 23, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Aug 12 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump ​said on Wednesday that White House ‌press secretary Karoline Leavitt would depart her role at the end of ​the month to spend more ​time with her family.

“Serving as the ⁠White House Press Secretary over the ​past year and a half has ​been the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” Leavitt said in a post on ​social media site X.

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“Karoline will ​now be one of my top outside ‌advisors, ⁠and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the ​Midterm ​Elections,” Trump ⁠said in a post on Truth Social.

Leavitt joined Trump’s ​2024 campaign and served ​as ⁠transition spokeswoman before Trump selected her to be White House press secretary, ⁠becoming ​the youngest person to ​be appointed to the role.

Reporting by Ismail Shakil ​and Christian Martinez; Editing by David Ljunggren

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Exclusive: Former employee at Southern Poverty Law Center arrested on fraud charges

2026-08-12 1:20 PM ET / CNN

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand

Updated 2 hr ago

Updated Aug 12, 2026, 1:27 PM ET

PUBLISHED Aug 12, 2026, 1:20 PM ET

Extremism expert Heidi Beirich, seen here in December 2021 in Ellijay, Georgia, says the extremism landscape in the United States has intensified, and the January 6, 2021 insurrection indicates that extremist views are now blending with right-wing politics to mainstream what were once fringe ideas.

Hannah Gaber/USA Today/Imagn

A former employee of the Southern Poverty Law Center has been arrested in California on charges that she oversaw secret payments to informants inside of White supremacist groups, one of whom she was allegedly living with and had a romantic relationship with at the time.

The woman, Heidi Beirich, previously ran the SPLC’s project tracking hate groups in the US and allegedly “oversaw payments of donors’ money” to people inside of these hate groups, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say she shared a bank account with one of those sources, which included funds from the SPLC’s payments.

“I believe she was part of the effort to open bank accounts in completely fictitious companies’ names and make payments to individuals for reasons that that were not accurate as described,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference Wednesday. “This is exactly what we said would happen in a case like this, which is that our investigators and the US attorneys and the agents working the case will can keep on working it even after the initial indictment.”

Beirich has been charged as part of a superseding indictment with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to conceal money laundering.

A lawyer for Beirich denied wrongdoing on her part.

Related article Tourists walk past the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2026. Rahmat Gul/AP SPLC charged with defrauding donors over paid extremism informant program 4 min read

The charges are part of the Justice Department’s case against the SPLC over the alleged payments, which prosecutors say were done without donor knowledge and through shell companies.

The SPLC has fought the case, arguing that the government is mischaracterizing a long-standing informant program designed to gather intelligence on hate groups. Attorneys for the SPLC have also said that law enforcement officials have used information gathered by the organization’s informants in the past.

Despite her role in overseeing the payments — some of which were directed to an Imperial Wizard in the KKK — Beirich allegedly had a romantic relationship with one source who infiltrated a White Supremacy group and stole documents for the SPLC, according to the indictment.

That person, prosecutors say, was paid over $1 million by the SPLC since 2007 and shared a bank account with Beirich which contained $140,000 from those payments.

“Dr. Beirich is innocent, and this case is without merit,” her attorney, Michael J. Proctor said in a statement. “We believe the charges against her and the SPLC are politically motivated, and Dr. Beirich has been targeted in this case because of the important work she has done to combat hate groups and extremists.”

Proctor’s statement says Beirich left the SPLC over six years ago.

“Dr. Beirich won’t be silenced or intimidated by the government’s false and politicized allegations now,” Proctor continued. “She welcomes the opportunity to present the truth in court.”

This story was updated with additional details.

Baby with heart defect born to surrogate must receive treatment, Texas court rules, after intended parents request abortion

August 12, 2026 / 3:49 PM EDT / CBS News

By Kerry Breen News Editor
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.

Read Full Bio

A baby with a rare heart defect was born to an Alaska surrogate in Texas on Wednesday, one day after Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in the case to ensure the child received lifesaving care after birth, an organization representing surrogate McKenna West said Wednesday.

West was about 20 weeks pregnant when the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and serious congenital condition where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped, Paxton’s office said in a news release.

The intended parents, identified in court documents as Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, requested West undergo an abortion after they learned about the diagnosis, Paxton’s office said. But West refused and traveled to Dallas County, Texas, “for protection,” the office said, and to ensure that the child, identified in the news release as Gabriel, “could be near doctors experienced in treating his condition.”

Children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome typically need three surgeries, the first within two weeks of birth, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The second surgery is performed at 4 to 6 months, and the third between 18 months and 5 years old. The heart condition is rare and complex, the Cleveland Clinic says, and can cause lifelong complications.

Gilkar and Ahmed have refused to say they will consent to the first surgery, Paxton’s office said, alleging they “may attempt to transport the child out of Texas to prevent treatment from being administered.” Gilkar and Ahmed have asked a California court to order West to give birth there.

Jacqueline Ribiero, a media relations manager for the pro-life advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, confirmed to CBS News that West had given birth on Wednesday. Alliance Defending Freedom is managing communications for West’s lawyer, identified in court documents as Lincoln Wilson Davis.

It was not clear if Gilkar and Ahmed were present when West gave birth on Wednesday, or what medical care was provided immediately after the baby was born. An attorney for Gilkar and Ahmed did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the case.

In the intervention, Paxton’s office said Gabriel’s treating physicians have determined that “surgery offers a meaningful chance of survival” for the child, and noted that he will “live with significant lifelong disabilities” after the operations.

Paxton’s office said that any gestational agreement between West and the intended parents should not govern whether the child receives care after birth. Texas law protects any baby born in the state, the office said. An Alaska court previously ruled that West can make her own medical decisions.

“The question the Court must prepare to answer is not whether a gestational agreement is enforceable,” Paxton’s office wrote in the court filing. “The question is whether any adult, whatever parental title he or she holds, may decline life-saving surgery for a newborn who can live, because the child will live with disabilities.”

In a separate letter to UT Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Paxton requested that the facilities provide care and prevent Gabriel from being taken out of state. The two hospitals did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News.

Paxton’s request for a court order was granted on Wednesday, his office said in a second news release. The court order rules that lifesaving care must be provided when Gabriel is born. The court also issued a restraining order that says Ahmed and Gilkar, not West, are responsible for medical decisions within the requirements of the court order.

According to the order, the hospital and treating physicians must inform the court and involved parties when the baby is born, as well as of any medical developments. The order also appointed a guardian ad litem to represent Gabriel, and said that if treatment is refused, the court will convene an emergency hearing to determine whether to intervene.

“Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care,” Paxton said in a statement Tuesday. “My office will use every tool available to protect innocent lives and ensure that every child receives the care required under Texas law.”

West, Gilkar and Ahmed have not publicly spoken about the case. The three are expected to appear in court again on Aug. 25. It’s not clear if the baby’s birth will lead to an earlier court date.

Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists LLC, the agency that connected West, Gilkar and Ahmed, told CBS News in a statement that it supports the rights of both surrogate and intended parents.

The agency said it believes the matter “should have been referred to mediation where all parties would have been urged to consider the best interests of the child who will face severe hardship upon his birth, and to reach a settlement so that upon his birth, the child would be surrounded by love, not lawyers and litigation.”

Marine veteran Robert Gilman returns to US soil as Trump admin fulfills request: ‘No American left behind’

August 12, 2026 12:57pm EDT / Fox News

Trump said Russia agreed to release Gilman on humanitarian grounds with no prisoner exchange required

By Greg Norman-Diamond Fox News

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Photos and video emerged Wednesday showing Marine veteran Robert Gilman back on American soil following his release from Russian custody.

Gilman, a U.S. citizen who was arrested on Jan. 17, 2022, in Voronezh, Russia, and sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison, was freed on humanitarian grounds Tuesday after 1,666 days in prison. President Donald Trump said Gilman would land at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night, and after speaking with him, “he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands.”

“Our Marine is safely back on American soil,” Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to the president, wrote on X early Wednesday, sharing a video of an aircraft coming to a stop. “As President Donald Trump promised, Steve Witkoff brought Robert Gilman cheeseburgers and milkshakes!”

US MARINE VETERAN RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN PRISON AFTER 1,666 DAYS OF DETENTION

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, center, and Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka, right, greeted Robert Gilman, left, upon his arrival in the U.S. following his release from Russia.(SEPeaceMissions/X.com)

“(I snuck him a cigar for when he’s fully recovered!),” Gorka added. “And a member of our broader White House team brought him his own USMC flag. There are very few jobs like this one. No American left behind.”

In his own post, Witkoff, who is the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, said it was a “special night welcoming an American citizen home to his family and country.”

“Thank you POTUS for never leaving anyone behind,” Witkoff also said, sharing an image of him and Gorka alongside Gilman on the plane following the landing.

“Robert is a patriot — a former United States Marine who served our country with honor. He can now finally return to his family and receive the medical care he needs,” Witkoff said in a separate post. “His return is another testament to POTUS’s extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment to bringing Americans home. Under his leadership, Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina were also brought home from Russia.”

AMERICAN EX-MARINE FEARED NEAR DEATH AFTER WEEKS IN CATATONIC STATE IN RUSSIAN PRISON

Steve Witkoff and Sebastian Gorka are seen awaiting the arrival of Robert Gilman as he returned to U.S. soil following his release on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, from Russia.(SebGorka/X.com)

Gilman was convicted in 2022 of assaulting a police officer, initially receiving a sentence of three and a half years. Gilman’s troubles in custody then increased in 2024 when he was found guilty by Russia of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, assaulting an investigator and beating another guard.

In December 2025, Russia once again extended Gilman’s prison sentence after a regional court found him guilty of a new assault on prison staff.

However, the U.S. State Department referred to Gilman as a wrongful detainee.

Gilman is the third U.S. Marine to be taken prisoner in Russia in the last decade, following Russia’s detention of Paul Whelan in 2018 and Trevor Reed in 2019. Both were later released in prisoner swaps.

“After my discussions with President Vladimir Putin, Russia has agreed to release him, very much on a Humanitarian Basis. We appreciate this decision, and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return — No exchange took place,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.

Gorka says he brought Gilman a cigar to enjoy when he is “fully recovered.”(SebGorka/X.com)

“Robert Gilman has been reunited with his wonderful mother, Nancy, who is also on the plane with him, and will soon get to see all of his loved ones,” Trump added.

Fox News’ Emma Bussey, Robert McGreevy, Gillian Turner, Nick Kalman and Louis Casiano contributed to this post.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Why the ‘wisdom of crowds’ is getting some primaries wrong

2026-08-12T19:50:16.610Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/12/politics/kalshi-wisconsin-michigan-prediction

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Two successive weeks of primaries brought two successive shocks for progressive candidates in purple states and carry an important lesson for people watching politics:

It’s noisy out there!

With little high-quality polling in either Michigan or Wisconsin, polling averages showing big leads for progressive candidates were driven largely by partisan polling. And prediction market bettors followed suit, going all-in for those candidates. The two combined to create the mirage of a sure thing ahead of primary day.

But actual voters served up tight margins.

Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist and state assembly member in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, had a 95% chance of victory up until Tuesday, primary day, according to the prediction site Kalshi. (CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events. But CNN editorial employees are not allowed to use prediction markets.) There are other prediction platforms, including Polymarket, that similarly favored Hong.

Hong ended up losing the race by the tightest of margins to David Crowley, the establishment candidate and Milwaukee County executive who, incredibly,dropped out of the race before rejoining it. As of Wednesday morning, fewer than 5,000 votes separate the two. And neither reached 40% in the race. Two other prominent candidates — Mandela Barnes and Sara Rodriguez — dropped out ahead of Election Day, but not soon enough to remove their names from the ballot, and together won about 8% of the total votes cast.

By around 9 p.m. ET, it was clear the vote was going to be close, and traders on Kalshi were predicting a Crowley victory. The odds see-sawed through the night. CNN did not project a Crowley victory until the 3 a.m. ET hour.

In Michigan a week earlier, another proud progressive, Abdul El-Sayed, seemed like a lock with a lead in recent polls, none of which met CNN’s standards for reporting, but which may have affected bettors on prediction sites. It all led up to a more than 97% chance of victory on primary eve, according to the market on Kalshi. His odds never dropped below 94% as votes were being counted.

El-Sayed ended up winning, but with less than 49% of the vote, just one percentage point ahead of his moderate rival.

In both cases, the near-certainty of bettors on Kalshi was likely fueled by polls that suggested leads for Hong and El-Sayed. But in both cases, the most recent polling had been conducted largely by partisan outfits. In the absence of more high-quality polling, vibes took over and fed the social media echo chamber and a sense of momentum for progressive candidates in particular.

In Wisconsin, the most recent independent poll that met CNN’s standards had been conducted in late July by Marquette University. In that poll, Hong was indeed ahead by double digits, holding 46% support among registered voters who said they would vote in the state’s Democratic primary.

Importantly, the race was still in flux. The Democratic establishment had not yet rung alarm bells about Hong and coalesced around Crowley.

About a third of voters were uncertain about their choice when that Marquette poll was conducted. Barnes held second place in the poll, and dropped out just a day after the poll was released. It’s also hard to accurately poll a race where the candidates keep changing.

The ultimate winner, Crowley, had only recently reentered the race. And public scrutiny of some of Hong’s more controversial previous positions was just getting underway.

“Sometimes what polling tells you is that there’s a lot of uncertainty and room for shifts in a race,” said CNN’s polling editor, Ariel Edwards-Levy.

In other words, the campaign was still very much underway when the last high quality polling was done.

The fact that Hong had a 95% chance of winning on prediction markets never meant that she was going to get 95% of the vote or anywhere near it. It meant that most bettors thought she would win based on what they were seeing — polling, trends in other recent elections, their reads on the mojo of the candidates and whatever else fed the wisdom of the crowd.

In addition to those limits, it might not help when Polymarket and Kalshi executives tout their products as “truth machines,” when the reality is far more nuanced.

Kalshi’s founders say favored candidates occasionally losing is actually a feature of the platform.

“Before the ‘prediction markets got it wrong’ headlines roll in: a 5% probability doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It means it should happen 1 in 20 times. If 5% candidates never won, the markets would be broken,” Kalshi co-founder Tarek Mansour wrote on X.

In fact, Kalshi argues this is a teachable moment.

“Teaching people to think probabilistically in a world that is quickly losing nuance is one of Kalshi’s most important impacts,” Kalshi spokesman Jack Such told CNN on Wednesday. Polymarket declined to comment.

Michigan and Wisconsin are home to some of the highest-profile recent election polling misses, and pollsters agree they are notably places that are hard to poll well. Voters in both states have proved reliably swingy, and neither state has partisan voter registration, which makes difficult the type of modeling on voter file data that improves modern polling.

It all means that the quantity of quality polling is important in knowing how confident to be about the state of any race, particularly as fewer news organizations conduct polls. CNN does not rely on any single poll, but does compute a poll of polls — essentially an average of polls that meet its standards — where possible to assess presidential approval ratings and, as elections approach, for major contests.

Looking ahead to November, polling should be viewed for what it does say rather than what it does not. A recent CNN Poll conducted by SSRS showed that voters preferred Democrats by an 8-point margin heading into the November midterm election. That number is only so helpful, however, since people aren’t voting generally for Republicans or Democrats; they’re voting in a specific race for a specific candidate. House seats in many states have also been gerrymandered to benefit one party or the other, stuffing like-minded voters into certain districts.

What we’ve learned over the past two weeks is that November is still an eternity away and momentum can shift.

There are going to be a lot of polls out there that may point in different directions, a lot of them conducted by groups with a partisan agenda.

On the Kalshi prediction market, the odds of Democrats taking control of the House has been growing all summer and currently sits at more than 85%, which is a high degree of confidence, but also leaves a lot of room for Republicans. They actually have a better chance of holding the House majority than Crowley had of winning the Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin, under Kalshi’s odds. It’s important to remember what these numbers mean: People who are placing monetary bets think the safer bet is on Democrats winning. In the Senate, the odds of one party or the other winning control are about even.

Those markets are an interesting tool, but they’re only as good as the conventional wisdom.

CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report